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Texas Bill: Family History

FAMILY HISTORY

This first section gives some background on Texas Bill’s family, going back to his grandparents.  First we look at the Strength family on his father’s side, and then a brief look at the Yielding family on his mother’s side.  Since all the Strengths were named William, the generations are color coded:

  • Grandparents are Red
  • Parents are Green
  • Texas Bill Strength (TBS in this document) is, at least in this section, Purple.

Adding to the confusion is the protocol that when a Sr. dies and the Jr. has a son with the same name, the Jr. becomes the Sr., and the son becomes the Jr.

THE STRENGTH FAMILY

Despite his moniker, Texas Bill Strength was actually born and bred in Alabama.  At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th Centuries there were many, many Strengths in the State of Alabama, and very few anywhere else.  William Thomas Strength, Jr. comes from a long line of men with the same name.

Looking for early William Strengths, the Census of Free Inhabitants of Western Division, Tallapoosa County, Alabama, taken on August 8, 1860, shows a William Strength, born in Georgia in 1834.  An undated document shows a William Strength in the 34th Alabama Infantry of the Confederate Army.  Whether this was the same man or if he/they were relations to our Strength family is unknown.

1819

John Henry Strength was born in 1819.  He and his wife Louisiana Stevens Strength were the parents of William T. Strength, and therefore TBS’s great grandparents.

Their children were:

  • John Henry Strength, Jr., born 1841.
  • Hugenius Strength, born 1847
  • Columbus Washington Strength, 1843 – 1915
  • Mary Strength, born 1850.
  • William T. Strength, born 1855.

1883

 TALLASSEE

William T. Strength married Mary Artimiss Holt on July 1, 1883, in Elmore County, Alabama.  William was TBS’s grandfather.  He was born in May 1864.  [1855] Artimiss was born in 1853 in Summit, Alabama.

1889

Lena (“Leener or Lener”) Strength was born in May 1889 to William and Artimiss.  Lena married Lee Milton McDaniel.  In 1910 she, Milton, and her sister Ada lived in Tallapoosa, where they all worked at a cotton mill, Milton as a drawer, and the women as spinners. In 1918 the family lived in Odenville, in St. Clair County, where they were farming. In 1920 the McDaniel’s had three children and lived in unincorporated Jefferson County.  Milton worked as a teamster at a sawmill, where many of his neighbors were coal miners.  In 1935-1940 the family lived in Branchville, Alabama, with four of their children.  Milton was listed as a farmer on the 1940 Census. Milton died February 19, 1955, in Leeds, Alabama.   Lena died on April 25, 1962, in Bell City, Alabama.  She was buried at Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery in Branchville.

1890

Willey Strength was born in December 1890 to William and Artimiss.  Willey is no doubt a nickname for some unknown Christian name.  No information could be found about Willey, and the last we see of him is in 1900 when he is 9 years old.  There is a Bill, Jr. in the same family at that point, so it’s unlikely that Willey’s real name was also William, but it’s unclear.

1891

Lige Strength was born on August 18, 1891, in Tallassee, Alabama to William and Artimiss.  He was inducted into the Army on March 15, 1918, at Ashville, Alabama.  He served from March 20 to December 6, 1918.  At that time he lived in Acmar, Alabama.  He was also a coal miner.  He married Minnie P. Sullivan on March 7, 1923 in St. Clair County, Alabama.  He died on May 19, 1930, and was buried at Mt. Olive Cemetery in Morris, Alabama.

1893

Ada Bell Strength was born in May 1893, to William and Artimiss.  Ada married A.C. Brown.  In 1930 Brown was a mechanic at a textile mill in Russell, Alabama.  In 1935-1940 the Browns lived in Girard, Alabama.  In 1940, Brown and three of their sons worked in a textile mill.  In 1963 she was listed in James’s obituary as Ada Brown, Phenix City.  When she died on July 11, 1970 her last name was Thomaston.  There is a marriage notation for her on October 10, 1951, in Russell, Alabama, but no spouse is listed.

1895

Ivy L. Strength was born on January 19, 1895, to William and Artimiss.  On June 10, 1911, Ivy married Ollie Parker in Tallapoosa and had one child.  Then she married a Mr. Gray and had two children.  On November 12, 1928, she married Robert Jefferson Mashburn (1881-1964) in Etowah, Alabama.  Mashburn had four children.  In 1963 Ivy lived in Pell City, Alabama.  Ivy died on June 29, 1985, in Ragland, Alabama.  She is buried in Mount Zion Cemetery in Pell City.

Mary Artimiss Holt Strength died on April 10, 1895, in Warrior, Alabama.  Warrior is now a northern suburb of Birmingham.  At the time of her death, Warrior’s population was about 1,000.

On December 14, 1895, William married Rosa Vidella “Deller” McKay or McCay. Della is TBS’s Grandmother.  She was born in August 1875.  She was the daughter of James and Harriet McCay.

1897

William Thomas Strength, Jr. was born in May 1897, to William and Della Strength.  This William Strength was TBS’s father.  He went by WT, and became WT, Sr. when his father died.

1899

Art Strength was born in August 1899, in Tallassee, Alabama, to William and Della.

1900

 The Census taker in the 1900 Federal census (June 13, 1900) spelled the family’s names the way they were pronounced, including their surname, written as “Strinth.” Della was listed as “Deller,” and the children were listed as:

  • Leener (Lina)
  • Willey (unknown real name)
  • Lige
  • Adie (Ada)
  • Ivie (Ivy)
  • Bill Jr. (William, Jr.)
  • Art

 William T. Strength was listed in the 1900 Census as a farmhand.

James Solomon Strength, son of William and Della, was born on August 22, 1900, in Alabama.  James never went to school and was illiterate – he signed his WW I registration with an X.  His WW II registration indicated that he lived in Irondale, Alabama, was unemployed, and that his contact person was his mother, R.V. Bruner.  James died on June 11, 1963.  His obituary stated that he had lived in Leeds (near Moody), and that he had lived in Irondale most of his life. It said that he was a retired coal miner.  He was buried at New Hope Baptist Church cemetery.  He was survived by his wife, Viola, of Leeds.  His brother, W.T., was living in Houston, as was his half-brother, R.A. Bruner.

1901

Susan Frances “Fannie” Strength, Della and William’s daughter, born August 26, 1901, in Montgomery, Alabama.  Fannie married James Jason Alexander “Shug” Isbell.  Shug was born in 1872 and died in 1957.  Shug was 46 and Fannie was 18 in 1920.  He had daughters aged 18 and 16 at the time.  Together they had at least three more children. In 1920 they lived in Bold Spring, Alabama.  In 1930 he worked at the sawmill on Bessie Ferry Road in Jefferson County, Alabama, near her brother William.  In 1940 Rosa’s obituary said that S. Isbell lived in Irondale.  James’s obituary says that Fannie Pilkington lived in Gate City, Alabama, in 1963.  Susan died on January 30, 1972, in Mobile.  Her obituary in the Mobile Register indicated that her name was Mrs. Susan Frances Pilkington, a native of Montgomery.  The obit does not list anyone named Pilkington in the list of survivors.

1901-1906

William T. Strength died sometime between 1901 and 1906.

1906

Della Strength, William’s widow, married Reuben Marion Bruner on May 13, 1907, in Jefferson County, Alabama.  Reuben was born in 1864 [or 1871] in North Carolina.  His parents were from Virginia.  It was the second Marriage for both Della and Reuben.

1907

Lorna Geneva Bruner, Della and Reuben’s daughter, was born on September 19, 1907, in Birmingham.  She first married James Barnett at age 18 on January 3, 1923, using the name Loney Bruner. They were married at Roberson Mines, Jefferson County.  She married Willie Green Braswell on October 26, 1929, using the name Geneva Barnett. In the 1930 Census she was listed as Mary for some reason, and was living in Cotton Hill, Alabama where Willie was listed as a farmer.  In 1935-1940 the family lived in Eufaula, Alabama, where Lorna worked in a textile mill.  Willie was not shown to be working in 1940.  In 1963 Lorna lived in Eufaula.  Lorna died in September 1984 in Eufaula, Alabama.  She is buried in Sardis Cemetery, Baker Hill, Alabama.  Willie died on April 23, 1986, and is in the same cemetery.

1909

Raphael Anglo Bruner, Della and Reuben’s son, was born on September 13, 1909, in Tallassee, Alabama.  He was only 5’ 2” and weighed 115 pounds.  He worked as a truck driver.  In 1940 and 1963 he lived in Houston.  He died on June 10, 1978, of lung cancer in Houston, Texas.

1910

 TALLAPOOSA

In 1910 the Federal Census showed that Della and Reuben M. Bruner lived on Ashhurst Ave., Tallapoosa, Alabama.  By this time Della was known as Rosie.  Reuben “Ruby” and Rosie both worked in cotton mills – Reuben as a weaver, Rosie as a doffer.  Children living with them were listed as Louie G. and Rachel A. Bruner, and James, Susan, and William Strength.

1913

Rufus Bruner, son of Rosie and Reuben, was born in 1913 in Rodo, North Carolina.  He died on April 6, 1923, at the Roberson Mines in Jefferson County, Alabama at the age of 11.  He is buried at the Hillview Baptist Church Cemetery in Forestdale, Alabama.

1914

Martha Dulcina “Cinny” Bruner, daughter of Rosie and Reuben, was born on August 23, 1914, in North Carolina. She married George N. Mitchell on October 26, 1931. In 1940 George was a laborer in Irondale.  In 1963 she lived in Irondale, Alabama.  In 1940 her mother Rosie (listed as Rosa) and her half-brother James lived with her and her family.  She died on February 17, 1994, in Fountain Valley, California.

1916

Rosa M. [Vidella] Bruner, daughter of Rosie and Reuben, was born on May 2, 1916, in Charlotte, North Carolina. On August 2, 1930, at age 14, she married Therel Deforrest Carlton, age 18, in Irondale.  Therel was born in Mississippi on May 12, 1912.  Both of their fathers had to give their permission to wed. On February 19, 1933, son Robert Lewis Carlton was born.  In 1934 Rosa and Theral lived in Gate City, Birmingham. In 1935 she was a laundress in Birmingham. They divorced in February 1939, and at the time of the April 12, 1940, Federal Census, Robert was living with Theral and his new wife.  Theral apparently married again in 1944.

Rosa married Frank M. Burton on August 24, 1939, in Jefferson County. Frank was born on December 8, 1909, and was a steamfitter.   At the time Rosa was a waitress.  She died on November 23, 1940, “at a local infirmary” in Birmingham at the age of 24.  She and Frank had lived at 1021 12th Street N.  The obituary said that they had one son and two daughters.  Rosa was interred at the New Hope Cemetery, Birmingham.

1920

In 1920 Rosie and Reuben lived in unincorporated Jefferson County and Reuben’s occupation was listed as “charcoal burners.”  Their household included only Rosie and Reuben’s children:

  • Lorna
  • Raphael
  • Rufus
  • Dulcina
  • Rosa

1935

In 1935 Rosie (listed as Rosa) was a housekeeper in Birmingham, according to the Birmingham directory.

1940

In 1940 Rosie lived with daughter Cinny Bruner and son James Strength in Irondale, according to the Census.  Daughter Rosa’s obituary stated that she was survived by parents Mr. and Mrs. R.N. Bruner, Irondale.

1942

Rosie died August 5, 1942, Jefferson County, Alabama

THE YIELDING FAMILY

 The Yieldings were TBS’s relatives on his mother’s side.

 1888

 ONEONTA

George McGovern Yielding (TBS’s Grandfather) was born in March 1859 in Alabama.  Both of his parents were also from Alabama. He died on January 25, 1915, in Oneonta, Blount County, Alabama.

George’s wife Lucy T. Yielding (TBS’s Grandmother) was born in March 1863 in Alabama.  Her parents were also born in Alabama.

In June 1900 Lucy and George reported to the Census that they had been married for 12 years, which would have made it about 1888.

Their son John Henry Yielding was born in April 1888.

1890

In the 1890 Federal Census, George was listed as a truck driver.  They reported that two of their seven children so far had died.

  • Mary Yielding was born in September 1890.
  • Eliza Belle Yielding was born in April 1892.
  • Gypsie Lucille Yielding was born on July 4, 1893, in Oneonta, Alabama.
  • Tomie G. Yielding was born in June 1898.
  • Jessie Leon Yielding (TBS’s Mother), born on September 30, 1903.
  • Katie M. Yielding was born in 1907.

1910

Florence N. Yielding was born in 1910.

The 1910 Federal Census reported that the Yielding family lived in Oneonta.

1915

George Yielding died in 1915, when Jessie was only 15 years old.

1918

On September 9, 1918, at age 15, Jessie married Sam Cross Sandling.  Sam was 21 years old, born on March 2, 1897, in Birmingham.  In a 1918 Birmingham phone directory he was listed as a butcher, but on his World War I registration card (undated) he listed his employer as the Alabama Great Southern Railway.  Sam was inducted into the military from Bibb, Alabama on August 26, 1918, and first assigned to a base in Georgia, but was apparently able to make it back to Birmingham to marry Jessie in September.  Jessie’s mother Lucy had to sign an affidavit giving permission for her to marry since she was a minor.  Sam Sandling died on October 16, 1918 – where or how is unknown.  It was the height of the Spanish Flu, and many of the men conscripted to fight in WW I (Sam was to be a boiler maker) never made it to France.  He was interred at the Macedonia Baptist Cemetery in Oxford, Georgia.

1919

Jessie had Sam’s son, Eugene Henry Sandling, TBS’s half-brother, on June 9, 1919, in Birmingham.  Although there was no shame in being a war widow, and the baby was legitimate, it appears that Jessie took back her maiden name.  Other evidence that of Eugene’s real father was that one of his brothers named him as his contact person on his military registration form, using his real last name.  However, the name Strength was used on some Census documents.

Brother Albert’s World War II registration card named Eugene as the person who would always know his address.  At that time, Albert listed Eugene’s address as 4038 Sixth Ave. No. in Birmingham, which was a bit off from WT and Jessie’s 4032 address.  Eugene served in the Marine Corps from April 1, 1944 to March 23, 1947.  He married Mattie Beatrice Hall on May 6, 1939 – she died in 1988.  His second wife was Christine Kolojacko  (May 30, 1932 – January 11, 2011).  Eugene died on December 19, 1990, in Conroe, Texas, and is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Houston.

JESSIE AND WILLIAM, SR.

1918

Since Lige lived in Acmar in March 1918 according to his World War I military registration card, his brother William probably moved with him from Tallapoosa as well, but there is no hard evidence.

William served in World War I, but if so his military registration card doesn’t seem to be on Ancestry.com.  He would have been 20 years old, so it would make sense.

It is unclear when Jessie and William got married but it was probably 1919 or 1920.

Jessie and William T. Strength Photo courtesy Dale Strength

By all evidence, the Strength family was a poor, itinerant, mining camp family that moved to where the mining jobs were from about 1920 to the early 1940s.  Counting Eugene, Jessie’s son by a previous marriage, the Strengths had eight boys.  TBS was the fifth of the eight.

1920

MOODY

The 1920 Census showed the family living on “Private Road, Mining Camp, St. Clair County” (town of Moody scratched out).  The road no doubt belonged to a mining company, as the Census showed that William T. Strength, age 22, was a coal miner.  Jessie was 18 years old.  The household also included baby Eugene and William’s brother Lige Strength, now age 30.

Moody is located about 15 miles east of Birmingham.   It was known as Moody’s Crossroads well into the 1950s, the crossroads being Park Ave. and Moody’s Parkway/Highway 24/Highway 411.  At the end of Park Ave. is the Star Ridge Landfill (shown on the map below as Advanced Disposal Moody Landfill), 770 acres described as a former coal mine.

1921

Fred Thomas Strength was born on January 22, 1921, in Acmar, Alabama to William and Jessie.  Uncle Fred must have been an interesting character.  In 1937, at only 16, he and his dad were convicted of “Distilling” in Jefferson County, Alabama. (See 1937 below.)

In February 1942, Fred’s military registration revealed that he had a “scar across upper lip.”   Later that year, in September 1942, he was convicted of “contributing to the dependency, neglect, and delinquency of a female under 18” and sentenced to 12 months in prison, court costs of $18.10, and a fine of $500.  If I’m reading this right, he escaped on May 15, 1943, was recaptured on March 11, 1944, and discharged on September 24, 1944 – “Paid out.”

Even his love life was confusing.  Documents say he married Jimmie/Jemmie Lee Watson in Miller County, Arkansas, on May 28, 1950, but then he married her again on June 20, 1953, in Houston.  She died on February 8, 1988.  He died on July 15, 1988, in Liberty, Texas.

 1922

Albert Clark Strength was born on September 12, 1922, in Acmar, Alabama.  In 1942 he lived in Birmingham with his parents W.T. and Jessie and worked as a delivery man.  His World War II draft registration card noted that he had a long scar on his right leg.  He enlisted in the Army on September 21, 1942.  In 1950 he lived in Rushville, Nebraska.  On May 23, 1951, he married Nellie Florine Alfred in Houston.  He died on July 22, 1993, in Galveston, Texas.

ACMAR

Much of the following information comes from the following people:

  • Jane and Vernon Barker, Acmar residents.  Jane provided me with a Moody/Acmar calendar issued by the Lion’s Club that includes photos and historical information.
  • William Rowell, a young man with deep roots in Acmar, having grown up in the house that the school teacher occupied during the mining days.
  • Donna Turner, Acmar resident historian, who has provided information and photos.
  • Penny at the Moody Public Library, who shared historic photos.

Acmar is an unincorporated community in St. Clair County, three miles from Moody.  It was founded in 1908 by Henry F. DeBardeleben, founder of the Alabama Fuel and Iron Company, who opened two coal mines at Acmar.   The name Acmar is a combination of two mines, Acton and Margaret – Margaret was named for Henry’s daughter-in-law.  Henry died in 1910 and was succeeded by his son Charles, who the miners and their families reportedly called “Uncle Charlie.”

Donna Turner says that most babies at that time were born at home with the company doctor in attendance.   Those with very serious illness or injuries went to South Highlands Infirmary in Birmingham.

Several mines were opened in Acmar; some were slope mines and some were shaft mines.  Once depleted, soil and rocks were removed and they became strip mines, with coal harvested by drag-line equipment.  The soil was then replaced or ponds were built.  Coal production peaked in 1926.

Photo courtesy Moody Public Library

Jane Barker’s calendar says that in 1926 “Uncle Charlie” hired experts to teach the miners to garden and their wives how to can and preserve the food their husbands grew.  These skills allowed the miners to weather the Depression without having to accept relief.

Donna reports that “the company also promoted music and even brought in a musician to teach music, mostly to the young people, and the band played at many company events.”

Not all was rosy at the mine, apparently.  Wikipedia, citing a book called Everyone Was Black Down There (Robert H. Woodrum, 2007) says that in October 1935, one miner was killed and six were injured when strikers belonging to the United Mine Workers of America attempted to drive into the mines.  William Rowell says that there were mounted machine guns at the entrance to the Acmar mines; the concrete is still there.

The mines at Acmar closed in 1951.  Several buildings from mining years remain at Acmar, which is an active residential community today.  The epicenter is the Acmar United Methodist Church, still active today.  Back when the mines were active, the church alternated Sundays between Methodist and Baptist services.  The Strengths would likely have gone to the Baptist services.  The Baptists eventually formed their own church.

Acmar Church in the 1920s. Photo courtesy Donna Turner

Acmar Church in 2019. The steeple was removed.

The black church is also still there, but in considerably worse shape.  It appears that it was later used as a community center.  The two churches were proximate to each other in mining days, but the roads have since been reconfigured, so the path between them is a little convoluted.

Acmar’s old black church

Other buildings that remain are the teacher’s residence, a gas station, and the commissary.  As in most company towns, workers were paid in script, which William Rowell says was referred to as “clacker.”

Acmar Commissary – Photo courtesy Moody Public Library

 1923

IRONDALE

Edward Woodrow Strength, Sr., was born on May 22, 1923, in Irondale, Alabama to William and Jessie.  He served in the Navy from February 4, 1941 to August 9, 1946.  In 1950 he lived in Houston.  He died on August 30, 2002.

1926

James Silas Strength was born on May 4, 1926, location unknown, to William and Jessie.  James served in the Navy from February 1943 to March 22, 1947.  He married Helen Lucille Hall in May 1950.  In 1950 he was a painter living in Pasadena, Texas.  He died on March 21, 1992, in Harris County, Texas, and is buried at Houston National Cemetery.

BESSEMER

1928

William Thomas Strength, Jr. was born on August 28, 1928.  Family lore says that he was born in Bessemer, Alabama, but no birth certificate has been located.  The family does not appear in the 1926 or 1932 Bessemer directories, although there are quite a few men listed in them with the occupation of miner.

Chris Eiland at the Bessemer Hall of History reports that in 1928, there were three possible places he could have been born:

  • Elizabeth Duncan Memorial Hospital, known as Bessemer General Hospital, located at Third Ave. and 17th Street.  This hospital was built in 1913 and closed in the early 1970s.  It is now the site of Bessemer City Hall.

Bessemer General

Muscoda Mine Dispensary. Muscoda was one of many Birmingham-area company towns, located at Readers Gap on Red Mountain, south of Bessemer.  It is now pretty much a ghost town.

Muscoda Mining Camp

Employees Hospital of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company (TCI), located in nearby Fairfield. TCI became a division of U.S. Steel, and in the 1950s the hospital was renamed after Dr. Lloyd Nolan. The building was demolished in 2009.  Fairfield is proud to be the birthplace of George Lindsay (“Goober” on the Andy Griffith Show..”), born in the same year as Texas Bill, but by 1930 he was living with his grandparents in Jasper.

Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Hospital at Fairfield

And, of course, William Jr. (TBS) could have been born at home.

IRON MOUNTAIN

Bill’s eventual wife Dorothy said that he was born in Iron Mountain, Alabama.  Iron Mountain is a peak in Alabama and has an elevation of 1,188 feet.  There doesn’t appear to be a town there, but perhaps there was a company mining town there in 1928?  Here’s a map of the area:

1930

BESSIE

In 1930 the Federal Census shows that the family lived in a house at 191 Bessie Road, Bessie Town, Jefferson County, Alabama.  Bessie was located 22 miles northwest of Birmingham. William T. Strength and his brother James were coal miners.

William and Jessie’s Children in 1930 were:

  • Eugene (Sam’s son)
  • Fred
  • Albert
  • Edward
  • James
  • TBS (listed as W.T. in the Census)

BESSIE MINE

This history of Bessie was provided by Don Veasey of the Birmingham Public Library, compiled from the book The Birmingham District: An Industrial History and Guide, written by Marjorie L. White.

The Sloss-Sheffield Steel and Iron Company was the Birmingham District’s second largest producer of pig iron.  Many corporations in the Birmingham District built and maintained housing and entire towns, assuming most responsibility for the general welfare of their employees up through World War II.  The Sloss-Sheffield Company owned and operated housing, bathhouses, and commissaries at most of its furnace and mining operations, including Bessie.

The Bessie Mine opened in 1903.  It was named for John T. Milner’s granddaughter Bessie.  It was fairly common for Birmingham-area industrialists to name mines, towns, and railroads for daughters or other family members.

Bessie Mine entrance, 1940.  Photo Birmingham Public Library

The mine entrance had a 20 ft. reinforced concrete wall, was 24 ft. high, with guardrails of 3 inch pipe.  The entrance was 22 ft. wide, and accommodated a double track rail system.

An article in the Birmingham News dated January 2, 1942, reports that the Bessie mine shut down in 1932. This would seem to indicate when the Strength family probably left Bessie.  They had definitely moved on by 1935.

In 1942 it was announced that the Sloss-Sheffield Steel and Iron Co. would spend $700,000 to refurbish the Bessie Mine to provide materials for the War effort.

By 1955, only the Flat Top, Bessie and Hardspat mines were still in operation.  As the mines closed, people moved away. Housing at the Bessie and Flat Top mines was sold to employees in 1957 and has was mostly demolished in 1964.

Flat Top and Bessie closed in 1976 when the Jim Walter Corporation (successor to U.S. Pipe, the successor to the Sloss Company) reopened the new Nebo mine nearby.

ROADS IN BESSIE

The configuration of the area is basically a circle of roads that presumably surround the mine itself.  There are two roads that lead to Flat Top Road, which is the main thoroughfare through the area (the orange line at the top of the map below, south of Highway 23).

Another name for Bessie appears to be Maben, which may have been the Post Office.

Any attempt to drive through the area now is thwarted by gates that close off the dirt roads.

On the 1930 Census form for the district that included Bessie, there were a handful of roads:

  • Bessie Ferry Road: The ferry to which Bessie Ferry Road refers appears to be to the southwest of Bessie, in the bend of the Locust Fork where the river turns back to the north.  This appears to be part of the road from the Palos area across the river to Porter, which seems to be a few miles from Bessie.  There are a few roads now that lead toward the river but current aerial views do not seem to show any old roadbeds right to it, so the location of Bessie Ferry Road remains unclear.
  • Bessie Mines Road: Some current maps still show this road.
  • Bessie Road: Various maps show Bessie Road in different locations, mostly south of the mine.  The location of 191 Bessie Road is unfortunately lost to history.
  • Dry Ridge: Does not exist today.
  • Sweet Ridge: Does not exist today
  • Lindberg: Bessie-Lindberg Road can be seen on some maps, leading to the extinct town of Lindberg.  In 1930, one man, Thomas Davis, a waiter in a restaurant, was counted on the Census as living on Lindberg.

In all, in 1930 the district had 365 houses with 410 families.

BUILDINGS

In 1940, the Jefferson County Tax Assessor took photos of the buildings at the Bessie mine to use for property tax purposes. Mr. Veasey at the Birmingham Public Library was kind enough to pull those files and retrieve the photos.

Below is an example of the kind of home the Strengths would have lived in.  It was described as a three room cottage with a pine floor.  The 1930 Federal Census says that they paid $6/month in rent.

Photo courtesy Birmingham Public Library

Life at the mines was strictly segregated – after all, this was Alabama – which was a little ironic since the coal dust painted everyone black.  The photo below is some kind of mine office, with separate entrances marked “White” and “Colored.”

Photo courtesy Birmingham Public Library

There were separate white and black schools, and there are two schools indicated on the map above.  The white school was razed on December 8, 1964 – the time that most of the buildings were demolished.

This building has a sign that says “Bessie Negro School.” Photo courtesy Birmingham Public Library.

The map shows a “Mount Arat Church.”  Could that be Ararat?  The photo of this church was not identified with a name, denomination, or race.

Photo courtesy Birmingham Public Library

Bessie Town is now located within the city of Adamsville, northwest of Birmingham. The only thing left of Bessie is the cemetery.  Photos of most of the gravestones in the Bessie/Maben Cemetery can be found on the findagrave.com website.

Photo by Patricia Wilbert, findagrave.com

1932

(BIRMINGHAM)

Arthur Leon Strength was born on February 16, 1932, to William and Jessie.  Findagrave.com says that he was born in Birmingham, which may be a clue to where the family lived that year.  He was apparently known as Pete, and served time in Huntsville Prison in Texas in 1950 (see 1955 below).  He died on February 12, 2010, in Lithia Springs, Georgia.

1935

IRONDALE

The 1940 Census asked where the family lived in 1935, and Strengths answered Irondale, a mining town just west of Birmingham.

Irondale is the home town of Fannie Flagg (family name Neal), who wrote the book Fried Green Tomatoes. The story is set at the Whistle Stop Café, which is now called the Irondale Café.  It is a cafeteria type place where strictly Southern food is served. Irondale’s historic district is on 1st Avenue, which lies on either side of the railroad tracks.  The Café faces the tracks.  The film was not made in Irondale, but in Georgia; Irondale is still a thriving community, while in the movie it just fades away…   (Thanks, Don Veasey!)

Fried Green Tomatoes – and a Pork Chop

1936

Charles E. Strength was born on February 4, 1936, location unknown, to William and Jessie.  Charlie passed away on April 30, 1955, in Pasadena, Texas.  He is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Houston.

1937

W.T. Strength, age 40, (TBS’s dad) and Fred Strength (TBS’s 16-year-old brother) were convicted of “Distilling” in Jefferson County, Alabama (Bess Division). The notes read, “The Grand Jury charged that subsequent to 11-30-19 (sic) [the defendants] did and unlawfully mfg, sell give away or have in his possession of a still.”  They were sentenced to 1 year and 1 day to 1 year and 7 months.  WT’s sentence began on April 18, 1937, and Fred’s began the next day.  A distilling fee of $50 each was paid on May 1, 1937. They were paroled on November 2, 1937.

Note that in April 1937, when WT and Fred got in trouble with the law, the court was called the Bess Division.  So it may be that they were still in Bessie in 1937, and didn’t move on to Irondale until a bit later?

1940

OVERTON

By 1940 the family had moved seven miles west to Overton, an unincorporated area of Jefferson County with about 200 households.  Maybe.  Overton was essentially the same as Irondale.  (William’s half-sister Rosa’s obituary in November 1940 said that he lived in Irondale.)  It was a coal mining town, but William, now 44 years old, worked at building construction.  He reported that he had a fifth-grade education.  The address given was Irondale Rt. 1, 27th Street Road, which doesn’t really compute on a map.  The streets in Irondale only go to about 25th Street, and that area is heavily industrial today.

1942

BIRMINGHAM

In 1942, William, Sr., Jessie, and TBS’s brother Albert were living at 4032 6th Ave. No. in Birmingham, Alabama.  Albert was probably listed separately in the directory because he was 22 years old; no doubt the younger boys were there as well.  TBS would have been 13 or 14.

NEW ORLEANS

The 1945 New Orleans directory lists Bill, Jr. and his parents living at 857 Magazine Street.  Bill’s father was listed as “Delta ship building.”

In 1946 TBS filled out his military registration card (see below), and listed his mother at the same address.  This address is also found in a New Orleans directory.

In an interview, TBS’s wife Dorothy remembered that WT, Sr. and some of his sons worked as painters, and that WT, Sr. would make “white lightning.”  She thought that TBS might have been in Houston four or five years before Jessie and WT moved there.

HOUSTON

Bill’s parents were living in Houston, the May 13, 1950, Census tells us.  The address was 1104 Chartres Street., in downtown Houston.  In addition to William and Jessie, who were not working, the household included:

Bill’s brother Fred, 29, listed as a painter in a building firm.  At that time he had never married;

Bill’s brother Arther, 28, listed as a telegrapher in a telegraph office.  He was listed as a widower.

Chartres Street still exists, along a southeastern stretch next to Interstate 69 (Eastex Freeway), which began construction in about 1954.  Texas Bill’s parents lived on the other side of Chartres Street, however, and were probably displaced after their 1950 residency.  Their home is either under the highway or the site of the George R. Brown Convention Center.

X marks the spot where TBS’s parents lived in Downtown Houston in 1950

William., Sr. and Jessie are difficult to find after this, but in 1958 we find a listing for them at 1277 Sheffield in Houston.  William was listed as a carpenter.

CONROE

Jessie died at her home in Conroe, Texas, on September 1, 1965, of carcinoma of the bladder.  She was 62.  At the time she had been working as a waitress at a drug store soda fountain.  Her address was described as “Hollow Road, ½ mile East of Tamina Road, Rt. 1, Box 259 A, Conroe.” She was interred at Woodlawn Garden of Memories, Houston.

W.T. Strength, Sr. died at the VA Hospital in Houston on February 7, 1966, at the age of 69.  He also died of cancer of the bladder.  His occupation was listed as Painter.  His address was listed as Box 77301, Conroe, Texas.  He was interred on February 9, 1966, at Woodlawn Garden of Memories, Houston.

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